01
Genre and era
What musical language should dominate?
Art rock, 1970s progressive rock, modern alt-pop
Practical music direction
Write prompts that describe sound
Use genre, rhythm, instruments, voice, arrangement and production to tell Suno what the listener should hear. Treat every term as musical direction, not a guaranteed command.
The mental model
Describe audible behavior
Suno interprets a prompt as a set of musical associations. A focused prompt establishes a clear identity while leaving room for performance and arrangement choices.
02
Tempo and groove
How should time feel?
92 BPM, swung pocket, urgent 7/8 pulse
03
Instrumentation
Who is playing?
Baritone guitar, analog synth, upright bass, brushed drums
04
Voice and delivery
Who is singing and how?
Intimate contralto, theatrical baritone, breathy close-mic vocal
05
Arrangement
How should energy develop?
Sparse verse, rising pre-chorus, explosive final chorus
06
Production
What should the recording feel like?
Dry drums, wide guitars, tape saturation, dark room reverb
Prompt architecture
Give each clause one job
Six to ten meaningful clauses are a strong default. Start with identity, move through performance, then finish with recording character and the ending.
GENRE + ERA + TEMPO/GROOVE + INSTRUMENTS + VOCAL + ARRANGEMENT + PRODUCTION + ENDING
Focused example
Avant-prog and art pop, 104 BPM with alternating 7/8 and 4/4, angular clean guitar, elastic distorted bass, dry acoustic drums, theatrical baritone shifting into whispered harmonies, sparse verses and an explosive final refrain, close-mic vocals, crisp transients, spectral reverb, hard stop.
Style
Put global musical direction here: genre, era, groove, instruments, voice, arrangement, production and ending.
Lyrics
Put singable text here. Use short lines, blank lines between sections and restrained bracketed cues.
Exclude
Name unwanted instruments or traits here instead of repeating negative instructions in the style prompt.
Minimal
Use: Discovery and broad ideation
Result: More model initiative and larger variation
Focused
Use: Most finished generations
Result: Clear identity with room for musical decisions
Dense
Use: Unusual forms or precise ensembles
Result: More control with a greater chance that details blend
Contradictory
Use: Intentional surrealism
Result: Unpredictable hybrids and unstable emphasis
Genre atlas
Choose a musical neighborhood
A genre term carries rhythm, instrumentation, harmony, vocal behavior and production history. Start with one primary genre. Add a second only when it has a clear role.
Rock, punk and metal
- Progressive rock
- long forms, odd meters and instrumental development
- Avant-prog
- dissonance, angular riffs and abrupt structural turns
- Math rock
- interlocking patterns, clean articulation and irregular meter
- Art rock
- theatrical presentation, conceptual writing and unusual colors
- Grunge
- raw vocals, heavy guitars and loud-soft contrast
- Shoegaze
- dense guitar haze, buried vocals and wide ambience
- Post-punk
- angular guitar, prominent bass and controlled tension
- Progressive metal
- complex meter, long arrangements and precise heaviness
Pop, soul and funk
- Art pop
- experimental arrangements with a strong vocal identity
- Chamber pop
- strings, woodwinds and detailed acoustic arranging
- Baroque pop
- ornate harmony, harpsichord or strings and stately motion
- Synth-pop
- synth hooks, electronic drums and concise choruses
- Funk
- syncopated bass, short guitar attacks and groove priority
- Neo-soul
- behind-the-beat pocket, rich chords and intimate vocals
- Gospel
- choir, call and response and rising emotional intensity
- Acoustic singer-songwriter
- lyric focus, fingerstyle guitar and an intimate room
Electronic and club
- Ambient
- slow evolution, texture, spaciousness and little percussion
- IDM
- complex electronic rhythm, abstraction and detailed sound design
- Glitch
- clicks, skips, fragmentation and digital failure textures
- Trip-hop
- slow breakbeats, deep bass and cinematic melancholy
- House
- four-on-the-floor rhythm with piano or organ stabs
- Drum and bass
- fast breakbeats, sub-bass and kinetic momentum
- Future garage
- ghostly vocal chops, swung percussion and rain-soaked ambience
- Industrial
- metallic noise, loops and confrontational texture
Hip-hop, jazz and global traditions
- Boom bap
- hard drums, sampled loops and a direct rap pocket
- Lo-fi hip-hop
- dusty samples, relaxed drums and imperfect timing
- Jazz fusion
- electric instruments, virtuosity and rock rhythm
- Bossa nova
- soft syncopation, nylon guitar and intimate voice
- Afrobeat
- long interlocking grooves, horns and layered percussion
- Reggae
- offbeat guitar, deep bass and spacious drums
- Dub
- echo, spring reverb, bass emphasis and studio-as-instrument
- Folk
- acoustic storytelling, simple arrangements and communal melody
Instrumentation and voice
Give every sound a job
Use the pattern instrument + role + articulation + processing. “Baritone guitar, foreground rhythm role, palm-muted syncopation, dry overdrive” gives more direction than “guitar.”
Strings and bass
- Baritone guitar
- low and muscular. Try foreground syncopated riff, palm-muted, dry overdrive.
- Steel-string acoustic
- bright and percussive. Try picked folk pattern, close mic.
- Clean electric guitar
- clear and spacious. Try interlocking arpeggios, chorus-treated chords.
- Fretless bass
- fluid and singing. Try melodic counterline, upper register.
- Upright bass
- woody and resonant. Try walking line or bowed drone.
- Synth bass
- deep and shapeable. Try sub pulse, resonant sequence or rubbery funk line.
Keys and synthesis
- Felt piano
- soft and intimate. Try minimal motif with audible key noise.
- Rhodes
- warm and bell-like. Try tremolo chords with jazz extensions.
- Hammond organ
- swirling and weighty. Try Leslie rotation and sustained swells.
- Analog polysynth
- warm and unstable. Try detuned pad or short brass stabs.
- FM synth
- glassy and precise. Try metallic bell tone or digital keys.
- Mellotron
- grainy and haunted. Try vintage choir or string layer.
Drums and percussion
- Acoustic kit
- human impact and room energy. Try dry close-mic kit or loose live pocket.
- Drum machine
- precise and era-specific. Try 808, 909 or Linn-style character.
- Breakbeat
- sampled momentum. Try chopped break or dusty loop.
- Toms
- physical and cinematic. Try floor-tom march or stereo fill.
- Hand percussion
- layered organic motion. Try congas, shaker and tambourine interplay.
- Found percussion
- industrial or tactile. Try metal hits, glass taps and wooden knocks.
Orchestral and unusual color
- String quartet
- intimate counterpoint. Try pizzicato pulse or dissonant clusters.
- Muted trumpet
- bright but restrained. Try short noir responses.
- Bass clarinet
- hollow low woodwind. Try breathy drone or staccato pulse.
- Vibraphone
- cool metallic sustain. Try motor tremolo and jazz chords.
- Choir
- human scale and grandeur. Try wordless mixed choir or low male chant.
- Field recording
- place and realism. Try rain, train platform, crowd or machine room.
Vocal design
Separate identity from performance
Build a voice from range, weight and texture, then describe how it performs and how close it feels to the listener.
Range and weight
soprano, contralto, tenor, baritone, light, full-bodied, youthful, mature
Texture and tone
breathy, smoky, husky, raspy, clean, nasal, reedy, velvety, whispered
Delivery and technique
croon, belt, falsetto, straight tone, spoken word, rap, chant, call and response
Ensemble role
solo lead, gang vocal, close harmony, countermelody, wordless choir, layered octaves
Recording treatment
close-mic, dry, plate reverb, slapback echo, telephone filter, double-tracked, granular
Rhythm, harmony and form
Describe motion over time
Tempo gives speed, groove gives placement, and meter gives the recurring beat framework. Harmony sets color. Arrangement gives the song a destination.
Groove
- Half-time
- keeps the BPM but makes the backbeat feel slower and heavier
- Double-time
- keeps the BPM but increases perceived urgency
- Swung
- uses unequal subdivisions for bounce
- Syncopated
- places accents away from expected beats
- Behind the beat
- creates a relaxed, heavy or soulful pocket
- Motorik
- uses steady forward repetition for hypnotic motion
- Stop-start
- alternates bursts with silence or held space
- Polyrhythmic
- layers contrasting rhythmic cycles
Meter
- 3/4
- waltz motion
- 4/4
- broad pop, rock and dance foundation
- 5/4
- uneven forward motion
- 6/8
- rolling compound pulse
- 7/8
- urgent asymmetric motion
- 12/8
- slow triplet-based drive
Harmony
- Major key
- brightness, openness or directness
- Natural minor
- darkness with stable tonal gravity
- Dorian mode
- minor color with a brighter sixth
- Mixolydian mode
- major color with a lowered seventh
- Modal interchange
- borrowed chords that shift emotional color
- Pedal tone
- one sustained pitch beneath changing harmony
- Chromatic mediants
- dramatic chord movement by thirds
- Quartal harmony
- open stacked-fourth color
Melody
- Stepwise
- smooth, singable motion
- Angular
- wide or unexpected leaps
- Ostinato
- a repeating motif that anchors the track
- Sequence
- a motif repeated at new pitch levels
- Call and response
- one phrase answered by another voice or instrument
- Through-composed
- continuous development with little exact repetition
Verse to chorus lift
thin verse, rising pre-chorus, full-band chorus
Three-stage crescendo
small opening, broader middle, reserved final peak
Dropout
remove drums or bass before a return
False ending
stop convincingly, then return for a short final statement
Progressive transformation
let one genre gradually become another
Instrumental coda
finish with a defined non-vocal passage
Production and mix
Place the recording in a physical space
Choose a few compatible traits. Distance, width, frequency balance, dynamics, clarity, surface and room size are all audible directions.
Distance
close-mic, intimate, room-mic, distant, cavernous, behind the band
Width
mono, narrow, center-focused, wide stereo, hard-panned, immersive
Frequency
dark, warm, mid-forward, bright, airy, bass-heavy, band-limited
Dynamics
uncompressed, dynamic, gently compressed, punchy, dense, limited, pumping
Clarity
transparent, separated, crisp, detailed, hazy, blurred, muddy, abrasive
Surface
clean, polished, dusty, saturated, distorted, cracked, corroded, glossy
Space
dry, small room, chamber, hall, cathedral, plate, spring, infinite reverb
Era
1950s mono, 1960s psychedelic, 1970s analog, 1980s glossy, 1990s alternative, modern
Lyrics and sections
Format for breath and structure
- Use one lyric phrase per line.
- Keep verses in consistent blocks and leave a blank line between sections.
- Repeat the chorus text when exact recurrence matters.
- Use parentheses for likely backing responses, but expect some variation.
- Spell unusual names phonetically when pronunciation matters.
- Keep prose production notes out of the lyric body because they may be sung.
[Intro - instrumental, distant radio voice]
[Verse 1 - restrained]
The sunlight gathers on the wire
A yellow theorem catches fire
[Pre-Chorus - rising harmony]
Count the missing beat
Feel the pattern lean
[Chorus - full band]
Lemon yellow, open the sky
Seven steps forward, four passing by
[Outro - guitar feedback, hard stop]References and hybrid genres
Translate influence into audible traits
Use artist names for private listening analysis, then rewrite the reference as genre, era, rhythm, harmony, instruments, voice, arrangement and production. Describe the musical behavior instead of asking for direct imitation.
| Dimension | Question | Example answer |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | What two genre families dominate? | theatrical art rock and progressive pop |
| Era | Which production period is audible? | late-1970s analog studio sound |
| Rhythm | What makes the groove distinctive? | piano-led 6/8 with a straight 4/4 release |
| Harmony | What is the harmonic color? | chromatic minor verses and a bright major chorus |
| Instruments | Which three sounds identify it? | grand piano, layered electric guitar and massed choir |
| Voice | What are its range, texture and delivery? | expressive baritone with conversational verses and a soaring belt |
| Arrangement | How does energy move? | small opening, accelerating middle and operatic final climax |
| Production | How close, wide, bright or distorted? | close vocal, wide guitars and warm tape saturation |
Give each genre a separate role
A clear hybrid assigns structure, timbre, rhythm, voice or production to each influence.
Foundation plus color
One genre controls structure while another controls timbre
Example: prog-rock form with grunge guitar texture
Verse versus chorus
Place styles in separate sections
Example: trip-hop verse into post-hardcore chorus
Acoustic versus electronic
Use instrument families for contrast
Example: folk melody over glitch percussion
Historical collision
Combine one era of writing with another era of production
Example: 1960s soul song with modern sub-bass and vocal editing
Rhythm transplant
Borrow a groove without borrowing the whole genre
Example: art pop over a motorik beat
Vocal transplant
Place one delivery inside another arrangement
Example: crooning baritone over industrial techno
Progressive transformation
Let the song gradually become another genre
Example: chamber pop evolving into doom metal
Shared trait bridge
Connect genres through one common feature
Example: funk and math rock linked by syncopation
Exclude field
Remove defaults directly
Organic rock
trap hi-hats, 808 bass, synthetic risers, hard-tuned vocals
Dry intimate recording
cathedral reverb, reverb wash, huge choir, cinematic percussion
No generic climax
key-change final chorus, trailer drums, massed strings
Clean electronic detail
muddy low mids, harsh high end, distorted master, excessive sidechain pumping
Instrumental focus
lead vocals, spoken word, choir, vocal chops
Natural vocal
hard tuning, vocoder, formant shifting, excessive vocal layering
Avoid guitar-rock defaults
power chords, guitar solo, arena drums
Avoid pop defaults
four-on-the-floor beat, bright synth hook, repeated post-chorus chant
Advanced controls
Choose the smallest useful intervention
Lock the parts that already work. Use a targeted control when the problem is local.
v6
Finished work and controlled interpretation
Use a focused prompt, deliberate iteration and stronger style influence when needed.
v6-wild
Unexpected arrangements and experimental discovery
Use a simpler prompt, tolerate reinterpretation and keep the useful surprises.
v6-mini
Fast sketches and broad exploration
Test concepts quickly, then rebuild the promising direction with a production model.
| Control | What it changes | Working method |
|---|---|---|
| Weirdness | Moves from conventional choices toward unusual timbres, transitions and forms. | Start near normal. Raise it after the song identity is stable. |
| Style Influence | Changes how closely the result follows the Style field. | Raise it when the genre or ensemble keeps drifting. |
| Audio Influence | Changes how closely a generation follows uploaded audio. | Raise it when the melody, voice or groove must remain recognizable. |
| Cover | Changes style while trying to retain the melody of a song you created. | Use it for a substantial rearrangement of owned material. |
| Inspire | Draws mood, tempo and instrumentation from a playlist. | Use a small, coherent group of songs for stronger project identity. |
| Extend | Continues from a chosen point with new lyrics or style. | Use it to repair an ending or develop a promising section. |
| Replace Section | Regenerates one selected part of a song. | Use it when the larger song works but one verse or transition does not. |
| Remaster | Refines mix, balance, texture or pronunciation. | Use it for polish, not for a new composition. |
A/B testing protocol
- Lock lyrics, model and sliders. Change only the Style prompt.
- Generate at least two candidates for each prompt version.
- Score identity, vocal fit, arrangement, diction, mix and ending separately.
- Keep the winning prompt, then change only one layer in the next round.
- Use Replace Section or Extend when most of the song already works.
- Use Remaster for polish, not for changing the composition.
Troubleshooting
Revise one layer at a time
Each revision should test a specific cause. Keep the model, lyrics and sliders fixed while testing a style-prompt change.
The genre sounds generic
Add a subgenre, era, groove and one signature instrument.
The prompt feels ignored
Reduce it to one dominant genre and six essential clauses.
The singer feels wrong
Add range, texture, delivery and microphone distance.
The chorus has no lift
Request a thinner verse, rising pre-chorus and full-band chorus.
The mix is muddy
Use fewer foreground parts and request clear separation with open low mids.
The lyrics are rushed
Shorten lines, add breaks, reduce tempo or split each thought.
An instruction gets sung
Move global direction to Style and keep only concise cues in brackets.
The ending is abrupt
Request a short coda, fade or hard stop. Use Extend if the song needs more room.
The result is predictable
Raise Weirdness or test the experimental model after the core identity works.
An artist name is blocked
Replace the name with genre, era, vocal, arrangement and production traits.
Copy-ready starting points
Prompt recipes
Use these as test cases. Change one dimension at a time so you can hear what each revision did.
Progressive grunge
Progressive alternative rock with raw grunge guitar tone, 96 BPM, mixed 7/8 and 4/4, low-tuned electric guitar, melodic bass, roomy acoustic drums, weathered baritone moving from intimate restraint to cracked full-voice choruses, long developmental bridge, clear instrument separation, warm tape saturation, final unresolved feedback sustain.
Theatrical art rock
Theatrical art rock and baroque pop, brisk 6/8, grand piano, electric guitar, chamber strings, timpani, expressive baritone, conversational verses and stacked choir refrains, abrupt scene changes, operatic final climax, 1970s analog warmth, wide stereo arrangement, decisive hard stop.
Math-rock glitch
Math rock with glitch electronica, tense 7/8 grouped 2+2+3, interlocking clean guitars, elastic bass, dry live drums, granular synth interruptions, clipped androgynous vocal, stop-start verses, brief instrumental calculations, crisp transients, stutter edits, narrow verses expanding into a wide final chorus.
Noir trip-hop
Noir trip-hop, 76 BPM, dusty breakbeat, deep sub-bass, minor-key Rhodes, muted trumpet fragments, intimate smoky contralto, restrained verse melody, cinematic bridge, vinyl crackle, tape echo, dark wide mix, long instrumental fade.
Industrial cabaret
Industrial cabaret and theatrical post-punk, 118 BPM march, metallic found percussion, distorted synth bass, detuned upright piano, nasal dramatic baritone with megaphone asides, alternating spoken verses and shouted refrains, abrupt machine stops, narrow-band radio intro, saturated mono ending.
Lo-fi folk memory
Intimate indie folk, 82 BPM with loose human timing, fingerpicked steel-string guitar, upright bass, brushed snare, distant pump organ, mature close-mic vocal, narrative strophic verses, small harmony refrain, tape hiss, narrow stereo image, audible room, gentle fade.
Dream-pop lament
Dream pop with chamber-pop detail, slow 72 BPM, chorus-treated guitars, felt piano, cello, soft electronic pulse, airy layered soprano, short breath-separated lines, gradual harmonic bloom, luminous hall reverb, soft transients, final vocals dissolving into ambience.
Funk art rock
Angular art rock over a dry syncopated funk groove, 112 BPM, clipped rhythm guitar, active melodic bass, tight acoustic drums, clavinet, occasional brass stabs, conversational male tenor, restrained verses and explosive call-and-response chorus, minimal reverb, center-focused vocal, hard stop.
Psychedelic synth-pop
Psychedelic synth-pop, 124 BPM, warm analog arpeggiators, compressed live drums, phaser guitar, rubbery synth bass, dreamy high male vocal with double-tracked chorus, colorful harmonic detours, tape echo, saturated 1970s texture with modern low-end control, extended instrumental coda.
Cinematic post-rock
Instrumental post-rock and neoclassical ambience, 68 BPM rising to double-time, delayed clean guitar, piano ostinato, string orchestra, floor toms, low brass, three-stage gradual build, enormous final crescendo, natural room depth, wide dynamics, long decaying final chord.
Hyperpop rupture
Hyperpop and digital hardcore, 155 BPM, distorted synth bass, clipped kick, metallic snare, pitched vocal fragments, bright youthful lead alternating sweetness and shouted overload, micro-sections, sudden silence, bitcrushing, formant shifts, extreme stereo edits, short clean ending after maximal climax.
Afrobeat art pop
Afrobeat-informed art pop, 108 BPM, interlocking clean guitars, layered hand percussion, agile bass, horn responses, expressive contralto, call-and-response chorus, long groove sections with evolving arrangement, dry rhythm section, bright but controlled brass, live-room energy.
Dub post-rock
Dub production applied to post-rock, 78 BPM, deep bass, sparse drums, delayed guitar harmonics, organ swells, almost wordless distant vocal, long negative spaces, spring reverb throws, tape echo feedback, gradual instrumental build, bass remains centered and clear, fade into echoes.
Jazz-metal fusion
Progressive jazz-metal fusion, 132 BPM with mixed meter, seven-string guitar alternating clean quartal chords and tight low riffs, fretless bass, acoustic drums, Rhodes, tenor saxophone, controlled gritty tenor vocal used sparingly, extended instrumental development, precise attacks, dry detailed mix.
1920s radio carnival
Dark carnival cabaret, 126 BPM two-step, detuned upright piano, tuba bass, snare rolls, clarinet flourishes, nasal theatrical baritone with rapid patter, lo-fi 1920s radio filter, shellac crackle, narrow bandwidth, light megaphone distortion, sudden full-band accents, comic false ending.
Lemon Yellow visual poem
Avant-prog, math rock, experimental art pop and glitch electronica, luminous but uncanny, alternating 7/8 verse, 5/4 bridge and resolving 4/4 refrain, angular clean guitar, elastic distorted bass, dry polyrhythmic drums, whispered equations, fragmented syllables, granular vocal edits, tape decay, spectral reverb, abrupt silence, final word yellow dissolving into guitar feedback.
Master vocabulary
Pick one or two terms from each useful family
Do not paste every term into one prompt. Use this palette to replace vague adjectives with specific performance and recording choices.
Positive mood
euphoric, radiant, playful, tender, hopeful, triumphant, buoyant, affectionate
Negative mood
melancholic, desolate, anxious, bitter, mournful, ominous, furious, defeated
Mixed mood
bittersweet, wistful, uneasy hope, comic menace, fragile confidence, ecstatic grief
Energy
restrained, simmering, driving, explosive, relentless, exhausted, weightless, ceremonial
Narrative tone
confessional, observational, surreal, satirical, devotional, confrontational, nostalgic
Scale
intimate, club-sized, live-room, cinematic, monumental, microscopic, cosmic
Attack
soft, rounded, sharp, clipped, explosive, percussive, bowed, plucked
Articulation
legato, staccato, palm-muted, tremolo-picked, fingerpicked, pizzicato, sustained
Timing
tight, loose, behind the beat, ahead of the beat, swung, quantized, rubato
Density
solo, sparse, transparent, layered, dense, maximal, wall of sound
Movement
rising, falling, pulsing, breathing, lurching, floating, accelerating, collapsing
Interaction
unison, call and response, counterpoint, interlocking, antiphonal, trading solos
Before generating
Prompt checklist
- One dominant genre is obvious.
- Tempo or groove is specified when rhythm matters.
- Three to five defining instruments have clear roles.
- Voice includes range, texture, delivery and ensemble role.
- Sections have an energy relationship, not just names.
- Production directions are audible and compatible.
- The ending has an intentional instruction.
- Unwanted defaults are placed in Exclude.
- Lyrics use short readable lines and restrained section cues.
- Each test changes one variable and generates multiple candidates.
Minimal template
[primary genre] with [secondary trait], [tempo and groove], [three defining instruments], [vocal range + texture + delivery], [verse-to-chorus energy arc], [two or three production traits], [ending].
Advanced template
[genre foundation], [era or scene], [BPM, groove and meter], [drum behavior], [bass behavior], [foreground instruments and articulation], [other color instruments], [vocal identity], [vocal delivery and processing], [section contrast], [harmonic or melodic feature], [mix depth and width], [surface character], [ending].
Score each candidate from 1 to 5
Identity
Do the first 20 seconds establish the intended genre and era?
Groove
Does the rhythm create the intended physical feeling?
Voice
Do range, tone, diction and delivery fit the lyric?
Arrangement
Do sections contrast and build toward a clear destination?
Instrumentation
Are the defining instruments audible in their intended roles?
Lyrics
Are words complete, intelligible and naturally phrased?
Production
Are depth, width, brightness and density appropriate?
Ending
Does the song conclude intentionally?
Distinctiveness
Does the result contain a memorable musical decision?
Common questions
Short answers
How should a Suno style prompt be structured?
Start with one dominant genre, then add era, tempo or groove, defining instruments, vocal character, arrangement, production and an intentional ending.
Where should musical directions and lyrics go?
Put global musical direction in Style. Put singable text and restrained section cues in Lyrics. Put unwanted instruments and traits in Exclude.
How can an artist reference be made prompt-safe?
Translate the reference into audible traits such as genre, era, rhythm, instrumentation, vocal delivery, arrangement and production. Do not ask for direct imitation.
What is the best way to improve a weak generation?
Identify the failing prompt layer, change one or two clauses, generate multiple candidates and compare the same criteria each time.